This application claims the priority of German Application No. 198 49 079.8, filed Oct. 24, 1998, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The invention relates to a process for deactivating pyrotechnic actuators in a vehicle.
It is a legal requirement for the recycling of used vehicles that all pyrotechnic actuators, which are preferably used in the case of safety systems, such as air bags, belt tightening devices, and the like, must either be triggered or removed from the vehicle before the vehicle is processed in the shredder. In addition, vehicle manufacturers will, in the future, take back and recycle old vehicles free of charge. It therefore becomes necessary to make the recycling of all components as reasonably cost effective as possible. For deactivating pyrotechnic components, after the removal of the covering parts, the connection wires of the priming caps are made accessible and the actuators are then triggered by applying a voltage thereto. Particularly, in view of the increasing number of pyrotechnic actuators used in the vehicle, this approach is time-consuming and therefore cost-intensive. The removal of pyrotechnic actuators is also not feasible because of time and cost expenditures.
It is an object of the invention to provide a process of the above-mentioned type by which several pyrotechnic actuators can be deactivated at reasonable cost and in an environmentally acceptable manner.
The present invention achieves this object by a process for deactivating pyrotechnic actuators in a vehicle, characterized in that the actuators are triggered jointly if a code signal provided for this purpose and stored in the vehicle is fed from the outside and a checking of the two code signals is carried out with respect to their conformity.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.